Han Lie ran like a madman along the dark dirt road, tears flowing non-stop. The sight of Xiao Mei's small, cold body kept replaying in his mind like a persistent nightmare. The sound of her parents' cries still echoed in his ears, piercing his heart like a blunt knife.
"I'm a murderer…" he whispered, stumbling in the darkness. "I killed an innocent little girl…"
His legs gave out, and he fell to his knees in the middle of the lonely road. His trembling hands clawed at the dirt until they bled, as if he wanted to dig a hole to hide himself from the world.
[WHY ARE YOU RUNNING, HOST?]
The system's voice appeared with a tone that sounded… amused. As if this situation was the best entertainment it had ever seen.
[ISN'T THIS WHAT YOU WANTED? POWER?]
"POWER BY KILLING INNOCENT PEOPLE?!" Han Lie screamed, hitting his own head, hoping to get that monstrous voice out of his brain.
[EVERY POWER HAS A PRICE]
[YOU ARE JUST TOO NAIVE TO UNDERSTAND THE REALITY OF THIS WORLD]
"I never asked for this! I never wanted to kill anyone!"
[OH, REALLY?]
A transparent panel appeared before him, displaying a memory that made Han Lie gasp.
There, he saw himself that night in the cursed forest, screaming with eyes full of hatred: "I'm willing to do ANYTHING to become strong!"
[ANYTHING, YOU SAID]
[AND I AM MERELY... FULFILLING YOUR REQUEST]
Han Lie stared at the recording with vacant eyes. It was true... he had said those very words. But he never imagined "anything" would mean killing an innocent person.
"I... I didn't know..." his voice trembled weakly.
[IGNORANCE IS NO EXCUSE]
[BESIDES... WHO SAID YOUR MISSION IS COMPLETE?]
Han Lie looked up in horror. "What do you mean?"
[YOU THINK ONE DEATH IS ENOUGH TO PAY FOR THE POWER YOU USED?]
[THAT'S TOO... OPTIMISTIC]
Suddenly, an intense pain shot through his body. It started at the tip of his right hand's index finger—a pain like being repeatedly hit with a sledgehammer.
"AAAAAHHHHH!" Han Lie screamed in agony, clutching his right hand.
CRACK!
The sound of a bone breaking echoed in the silent night. Han Lie's index finger was bent at an unnatural angle, the bone protruding through the torn skin. Fresh blood flowed, staining the ground.
[A PUNISHMENT FOR YOUR IGNORANCE]
Before the pain in the first finger was over, the same agony struck his middle finger.
CRACK!
"NOOOO!" Han Lie shrieked until his voice was hoarse. His middle finger broke in the same way—the bone sticking out, the flesh torn, blood gushing.
[YOU ARE TOO WEAK TO HANDLE THE POWER I'VE GIVEN YOU]
[THIS IS A... LESSON]
One by one, every finger on his right hand broke in a horrifying manner. His ring finger, pinky, and finally his thumb—all were shattered with a heartbreaking sound of cracking bone.
Han Lie could no longer scream. His voice was gone from too much yelling. He could only cry in silence, clutching his right hand, which was now like minced meat.
[BUT I'M NOT SO CRUEL]
[I WILL... REPAIR IT]
A red light glowed around Han Lie's ruined hand. Slowly, with a pain even more horrifying than when it broke, his bones began to reconnect.
He could feel every muscle fiber regrowing, every nerve reattaching, every blood vessel reforming. The process was slow and agonizing—ten times more painful than when his bones had shattered.
"Stop..." he whispered weakly. "Please... stop..."
[REGENERATION IS ALMOST COMPLETE]
[BE PATIENT, HOST]
After what felt like an eternity, his hand was whole again. But Han Lie could feel the difference—a chronic pain that would never go away. Every movement of his fingers caused a sharp, stinging sensation.
[YOUR HAND IS NOW 50% MORE SENSITIVE TO PAIN]
[A SMALL GIFT FROM ME]
Han Lie tried to move his fingers and immediately regretted it. The pain was like being repeatedly stabbed with a hot needle.
[YOUR STATUS HAS BEEN UPDATED]
A status panel appeared with changes that made Han Lie want to vomit:
[NAME: HAN LIE]
[CULTIVATION: QI CONDENSATION REALM - LAYER 1]
[PHYSICAL STRENGTH: 3/100]
[MENTAL STRENGTH: 1/100]
[SANITY: 85/100]
[LEVEL OF SUFFERING: 15/∞]
[SOULS DESTROYED: 1 (Xiao Mei - age 10)]
[ACTIVE TRAUMA: Phantom Pain (Right Hand)]
"Souls destroyed..." Han Lie stared at the number with vacant eyes. "You're really counting them like... statistics?"
[OF COURSE]
[EVERY SOUL DESTROYED BECAUSE OF YOU IS AN ACHIEVEMENT]
[AND THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING]
Han Lie felt his sanity begin to waver. The world around him felt unreal, as if he were in a nightmare that would never end.
[OH, AND ONE MORE THING]
A new panel appeared with words that made Han Lie's heart nearly stop:
[NEXT MISSION AVAILABLE]
[MISSION: KILL XIAO MEI'S FATHER BEFORE HE KILLS HIMSELF OUT OF GRIEF]
[TIME LIMIT: 12 HOURS]
[REWARD: +20 STRENGTH POINTS, CULTIVATION TECHNIQUE 'DEMON'S CLAW']
[FAILURE PENALTY: LOSS OF 10 YEARS OF LIFESPAN, BOTH EYES REMOVED AND REGENERATED EVERY DAY FOR 1 MONTH]
"NO!" Han Lie screamed with the last of his strength. "I WON'T DO IT!"
[YOUR CHOICE]
[BUT REMEMBER... THE FAILURE PENALTY WILL BE... VERY ENJOYABLE]
[FOR ME]
The monstrous laughter echoed even louder, filling Han Lie's entire universe. He realized that his life had just turned into a hell that would never end.
And most terrifying of all...
[COUNTDOWN BEGINS: 11 HOURS 59 MINUTES 58 SECONDS...]
A red timer began to tick in the corner of his vision, counting down to a decision that would determine the rest of his life.
Han Lie sat weakly in the middle of the dark road, surrounded by the silence of the night and the demonic laughter that resided in his head.
"God..." he whispered in despair. "What have I done..."